1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a supporting structure for plants, specifically to a plurality of trays for holding plants and soil in an arrangement of decorative or garden plants, along with lighting means for illuminating the plants. Individual centrally mounted trays can be rotated by a motor or other suitable means for distributing the illumination and displaying the plants such as for selling purposes.
2. Disclosure Statement
Teach in U.S. Pat. No. 2,310,718, issued Feb. 9, 1943, discloses a display case having concentrically disposed shelving rotatable about a centrally driven shaft and illuminated by a plurality of vertically arranged fluorescent tubes. Teach does not, however, disclose a plant supporting structure, nor would such a utility be practical with the provision of a glass dome as suggested by Teach, which would be expected to hinder free circulation of gases and prevent air circulation to any plants inside. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,720,056, issued Oct. 11, 1955 to Levy, a plurality of flower containers is supported on a central pole with a fluorescent tube therein for illuminating the plants contained in the containers. A disadvantage associated with the structure of Levy, however, is poor distribution of light inherent in the centrally disposed illuminating means, leading to poor absorption of incident light by the leaves of the plant, as well as poor illumination of the plants for display purposes.
Other centrally supported display platforms are illustrated in U.S. Design Pat. No. 129,636, showing a design for a fluorescent display lamp; in U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,612, issued July 4, 1972 to Gehl, Jr., disclosing a tree-like display stand in a generally conical shape to stylistically suggest a Christmas tree, along with direct or indirect lighting, such as a string of lights; and Schick, U.S. Pat. No. 2,540,353, issued Feb. 6, 1951, shows a display fixture having a plurality of shelves supported in vertical spaced relation by a plurality of vertical columns with sources of illumination. Ware in U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,063, issued May 23, 1972, shows a plant growth device where plants are supported on shelves and exposed to fluorescent illumination by a bank of horizontally arranged fluorescent tubes.
All of the structures disclosed above suffer from the disadvantage of non-portability associated with the vases mounted on a fixed base, with fixed shelving and, in many cases, poor illumination of articles on the shelving. Furthermore, none of the devices disclosed in the listed references combines rotatable trays specifically for holding plants, along with vertical illumination. Accordingly, all prior attempts to develop a versatile and portable supporting structure for plants, usable either for display or for gardening purposes, have been unsuccessful.